The news: Following violent incidents involving US federal law enforcement agents, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman issued muted criticisms of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement while praising President Donald Trump's willingness to allow an investigation, per TechCrunch.
Why this matters: The AI CEOs' cautious response comes as CEO activism has become a measurable brand risk. Tesla's brand value dropped 36% YoY in 2025 (its third consecutive annual decline) to $27.61 billion, down from a peak of $66.2 billion in 2023, per Brand Finance data cited by CNBC. The decline was heavily correlated with Elon Musk's conservative political activism, with Tesla's US recommendation score falling to 4.0 out of 10 from 8.2 in 2023.
Consumer spending follows their values alignment with a brand, and research shows the financial stakes are substantial.